Mounting structures for portable electronic devices

ABSTRACT

A portable electronic device such as a handheld electronic device is provided. The device may have upper and lower portions. The upper portion may have clips that attach to springs on the lower portion. The device may have a housing with a bezel. A prong on the springs may ground the bezel. A vibrator mounting bracket may hold a vibrator in place within the housing. The vibrator mounting bracket may have an end that engages the housing. A threaded insert may be welded to the spring. A screw that passes through a hole in the vibrator mounting bracket may be screwed into the threaded insert to attach the vibrator to the housing. An elastomeric member may bias the vibrator towards the bracket. An acoustic module may serve as a subassembly for the device. Components such as an antenna, dock connector, microphone, and speaker may be attached to the acoustic module.

This application claims the benefit of provisional patent applicationNos. 61/044,445, filed Apr. 11, 2008, and 61/041,532, filed Apr. 1,2008, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND

This invention relates to portable electronic devices, and moreparticularly, to support structures for portable electronic devices suchas handheld electronic devices.

Handheld electronic devices and other portable electronic devices arebecoming increasingly popular. Examples of handheld devices includehandheld computers, cellular telephones, media players, and hybriddevices that include the functionality of multiple devices of this type.Popular portable electronic devices that are somewhat larger thantraditional handheld electronic devices include laptop computers andtablet computers.

To satisfy consumer demand for small form factor devices such ashandheld electronic devices, manufacturers are continually striving toreduce the size of components that are used in these devices whileproviding enhanced functionality and manufacturability. Significantenhancements may be difficult to implement, however, particularly indevices in which numerous components must be mounted within a confinedarea.

It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved supportstructures for handheld electronic devices.

SUMMARY

A portable electronic device such as a handheld electronic device isprovided. The device may have an upper portion and a lower portion. Theupper portion, which may sometimes be referred to as a tilt assembly,may include components such as a display, touch screen, and housingframe. The lower portion, which may sometimes be referred to as ahousing assembly, may include a housing, printed circuit boards, andelectrical components that are mounted to the housing and printedcircuit boards. The upper portion may have clips that attach to springson the lower portion. In a finished device, the upper portion may bemounted in the lower portion and spring prongs on the springs mayprotrude into mating holes in the clips. Spring prongs on the springsmay also be used to form a ground connection to a conductive bezel inthe housing assembly.

The springs on the lower portion may be used in supporting electricalcomponents such as a vibrator. A vibrator may be held in place againstan elastomeric member by a bracket. The elastomeric member may rest onthe device housing. The bracket may be attached to the device by screwsor other fasteners or other suitable techniques. For example, thebracket may have a hook that engages a protruding member in the devicehousing and may have a screw hole through which the bracket may bescrewed in place with a screw. The screw may mate with a treaded metalinsert that is welded to one of the springs in the housing assembly. Thesprings may be welded to a conductive bezel in the housing assembly.

An acoustic module in the electronic device may be used as a speakerenclosure and may be used to support components such as an antenna, amicrophone, a speaker, and a dock connector. When components such as theantenna, microphone, speaker, and dock connector are mounted to thespeaker enclosure, the acoustic module may serve as a finishedsubassembly for the handheld electronic device.

Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantageswill be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the followingdetailed description of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an illustrative portable electronicdevice in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative portable electronicdevice in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an illustrative portableelectronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a top view of an illustrative portable electronic device inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an interior bottom view of an illustrative portable electronicdevice in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative portableelectronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a partially assembled portableelectronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention showing how an upper portion of the device may be insertedinto a lower portion of the device.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional end view of a portable electronic device inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention showing howsprings and clips may be used to hold an upper device assembly and lowerdevice assembly together.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a portion of a lower device assembly inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of another portion of a lower deviceassembly showing a vibrator mounting structure in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a portion of an upper device assemblyshowing clip slots in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a portion of a handheld electronicdevice showing how a spring member on a lower device assembly may beused to form a ground connection to a conductive bezel in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional side view of a conventional vibratormounting arrangement.

FIG. 14 is a top view of another conventional vibrator mountingarrangement.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional side view of a vibrator mounting structurehaving a mounting bracket and an elastomeric support member inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of an interior portion of a portabledevice showing how a vibrator may be mounted using a spring member andbracket in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view similar to the view of FIG. 16 shownwithout the vibrator in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional end view of a portion of a portableelectronic device in which a vibrator has been mounted using a bracketscrewed into a housing structure in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional end view of a portion of a portableelectronic device in which a vibrator has been mounted using a bracketattached to a housing structure by a weld joint in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is an exploded perspective view of an illustrative speakerenclosure and associated components in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of an illustrative speaker enclosure andassociated components that have been mounted to the speaker enclosure toform a unitary assembly for a portable electronic device in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates generally to electronic devices, and moreparticularly, to portable electronic devices such as handheld electronicdevices.

The electronic devices may be portable electronic devices such as laptopcomputers or small portable computers of the type that are sometimesreferred to as ultraportables. Portable electronic devices may also besomewhat smaller devices. Examples of smaller portable electronicdevices include wrist-watch devices, pendant devices, headphone andearpiece devices, and other wearable and miniature devices. With onesuitable arrangement, the portable electronic devices may be wirelesselectronic devices.

The wireless electronic devices may be, for example, handheld wirelessdevices such as cellular telephones, media players with wirelesscommunications capabilities, handheld computers (also sometimes calledpersonal digital assistants), remote controllers, global positioningsystem (GPS) devices, and handheld gaming devices. The wirelesselectronic devices may also be hybrid devices that combine thefunctionality of multiple conventional devices. Examples of hybridportable electronic devices may include a cellular telephone thatincludes media player functionality, a gaming device that includes awireless communications capability, a cellular telephone that includesgame and email functions, and a portable device that receives email,supports mobile telephone calls, has music player functionality andsupports web browsing. These are merely illustrative examples.

An illustrative portable electronic device in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1. Device 10 ofFIG. 1 may be, for example, a handheld electronic device that supports2G and/or 3G cellular telephone and data functions, global positioningsystem capabilities, and local wireless communications capabilities(e.g., IEEE 802.11 and Bluetooth®) and that supports handheld computingdevice functions such as internet browsing, email and calendarfunctions, games, music player functionality, etc.

Device 10 may have housing 12. Antennas for handling wirelesscommunications may be housed within housing 12 (as an example).

Housing 12, which is sometimes referred to as a case, may be formed ofany suitable materials including, plastic, glass, ceramics, metal, orother suitable materials, or a combination of these materials. In somesituations, housing 12 or portions of housing 12 may be formed from adielectric or other low-conductivity material. Housing 12 or portions ofhousing 12 may also be formed from conductive materials such as metal.An advantage of forming housing 12 from a dielectric material such asplastic is that this may help to reduce the overall weight of device 10and may avoid potential interference with wireless operations.

In scenarios in which housing 12 is formed from metal elements, one ormore of the metal elements may be used as part of the antennas in device10. For example, metal portions of housing 12 may be shorted to aninternal ground plane in device 10 to create a larger ground planeelement for that device 10.

Housing 12 may have a bezel 14. The bezel 14 may be formed from aconductive material and may serve to hold a display or other device witha planar surface in place on device 10 and to form an estheticallypleasing trim around the edge of device 10. As shown in FIG. 1, forexample, bezel 14 may be used to surround the top of display 16. Bezel14 and other metal elements associated with device 10 may be used aspart of the antennas in device 10. For example, bezel 14 may be shortedto printed circuit board conductors, metal frame structures, or otherinternal ground plane structures in device 10 to create a larger groundplane element for device 10.

Display 16 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic lightemitting diode (OLED) display, or any other suitable display. Theoutermost surface of display 16 may be formed from one or more plasticor glass layers. If desired, touch screen functionality may beintegrated into display 16 or may be provided using a separate touch paddevice. An advantage of integrating a touch screen into display 16 tomake display 16 touch sensitive is that this type of arrangement cansave space and reduce visual clutter.

Display 16 (e.g., a touch screen) is merely one example of aninput-output device that may be used with electronic device 10. Ifdesired, electronic device 10 may have other input-output devices. Forexample, electronic device 10 may have user input control devices suchas button 19, and input-output components such as port 20 and one ormore input-output jacks (e.g., for audio and/or video). Button 19 maybe, for example, a menu button. Port 20 may contain a multipin (e.g., a30-pin) input-output connector (as an example). Openings 22 and 24 may,if desired, form speaker and microphone ports. Speaker port 22 may beused when operating device 10 in speakerphone mode. Opening 23 may alsoform a speaker port. For example, speaker port 23 may serve as atelephone receiver that is placed adjacent to a user's ear duringoperation. In the example of FIG. 1, display screen 16 is shown as beingmounted on the front face of handheld electronic device 10, but displayscreen 16 may, if desired, be mounted on the rear face of handheldelectronic device 10, on a side of device 10, on a flip-up portion ofdevice 10 that is attached to a main body portion of device 10 by ahinge (for example), or using any other suitable mounting arrangement.

A user of electronic device 10 may supply input commands using userinput interface devices such as button 19 and touch screen 16. Suitableuser input interface devices for electronic device 10 include buttons(e.g., alphanumeric keys, power on-off, power-on, power-off, and otherspecialized buttons, etc.), a touch pad, pointing stick, or other cursorcontrol device, a microphone for supplying voice commands, or any othersuitable interface for controlling device 10. Although shownschematically as being formed on the top face of electronic device 10 inthe example of FIG. 1, buttons such as button 19 and other user inputinterface devices may generally be formed on any suitable portion ofelectronic device 10. For example, a button such as button 19 or otheruser interface control may be formed on the side of electronic device10. Buttons and other user interface controls can also be located on thetop face, rear face, or other portion of device 10. If desired, device10 can be controlled remotely (e.g., using an infrared remote control, aradio-frequency remote control such as a Bluetooth® remote control,etc.).

Electronic device 10 may have ports such as port 20. Port 20, which maysometimes be referred to as a dock connector, 30-pin data portconnector, multipin input-output connector, input-output port, or busconnector, may be used as an input-output port (e.g., when connectingdevice 10 to a mating dock connected to a computer or other electronicdevice). Port 20 may contain pins for receiving data and power signals.Device 10 may also have audio and video jacks that allow device 10 tointerface with external components. Typical ports include power pins torecharge a battery within device 10 or to operate device 10 from adirect current (DC) power supply, data pins to exchange data withexternal components such as a personal computer or peripheral,audio-visual jacks to drive headphones, a monitor, or other externalaudio-video equipment, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card port toauthorize cellular telephone service, a memory card slot, etc. Thefunctions of some or all of these devices and the internal circuitry ofelectronic device 10 can be controlled using input interface devicessuch as touch screen display 16.

Components such as display 16 and other user input interface devices maycover most of the available surface area on the front face of device 10(as shown in the example of FIG. 1) or may occupy only a small portionof the front face of device 10.

A schematic diagram of an embodiment of an illustrative portableelectronic device such as a handheld electronic device is shown in FIG.2. Portable device 10 may be a mobile telephone, a mobile telephone withmedia player capabilities, a handheld computer, a remote control, a gameplayer, a global positioning system (GPS) device, a laptop computer, atablet computer, an ultraportable computer, a hybrid device thatincludes the functionality of some or all of these devices, or any othersuitable portable electronic device.

As shown in FIG. 2, device 10 may include storage 34. Storage 34 mayinclude one or more different types of storage such as hard disk drivestorage, nonvolatile memory (e.g., flash memory or otherelectrically-programmable-read-only memory), volatile memory (e.g.,battery-based static or dynamic random-access-memory), etc.

Processing circuitry 36 may be used to control the operation of device10. Processing circuitry 36 may be based on a processor such as amicroprocessor and other suitable integrated circuits. With one suitablearrangement, processing circuitry 36 and storage 34 are used to runsoftware on device 10, such as internet browsing applications,voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) telephone call applications, emailapplications, media playback applications, operating system functions,etc. Processing circuitry 36 and storage 34 may be used in implementingsuitable communications protocols. Communications protocols that may beimplemented using processing circuitry 36 and storage 34 includeinternet protocols, wireless local area network protocols (e.g., IEEE802.11 protocols—sometimes referred to as Wi-Fi®), protocols for othershort-range wireless communications links such as the Bluetooth®protocol, protocols for handling 3 G communications services (e.g.,using wide band code division multiple access techniques), 2G cellulartelephone communications protocols, etc.

Input-output devices 38 may be used to allow data to be supplied todevice 10 and to allow data to be provided from device 10 to externaldevices. Display screen 16, button 19, microphone port 24, speaker port22, and dock connector port 20 are examples of input-output devices 38.

Input-output devices 38 can include user input-output devices 40 such asbuttons, touch screens, joysticks, click wheels, scrolling wheels, touchpads, key pads, keyboards, microphones, cameras, vibrators, etc. A usercan control the operation of device 10 by supplying commands throughuser input devices 40. Display and audio devices 42 may includeliquid-crystal display (LCD) screens or other screens, light-emittingdiodes (LEDs), and other components that present visual information andstatus data. Display and audio devices 42 may also include audioequipment such as speakers and other devices for creating sound. Displayand audio devices 42 may contain audio-video interface equipment such asjacks and other connectors for external headphones and monitors.

Wireless communications devices 44 may include communications circuitrysuch as radio-frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry formed from one ormore integrated circuits, power amplifier circuitry, passive RFcomponents, antennas, and other circuitry for handling RF wirelesssignals. Wireless signals can also be sent using light (e.g., usinginfrared communications).

Device 10 can communicate with external devices such as accessories 46,computing equipment 48, and wireless network 49 as shown by paths 50 and51. Paths 50 may include wired and wireless paths. Path 51 may be awireless path. Accessories 46 may include headphones (e.g., a wirelesscellular headset or audio headphones) and audio-video equipment (e.g.,wireless speakers, a game controller, or other equipment that receivesand plays audio and video content), a peripheral such as a wirelessprinter or camera, etc.

Computing equipment 48 may be any suitable computer. With one suitablearrangement, computing equipment 48 is a computer that has an associatedwireless access point (router) or an internal or external wireless cardthat establishes a wireless connection with device 10. The computer maybe a server (e.g., an internet server), a local area network computerwith or without internet access, a user's own personal computer, a peerdevice (e.g., another portable electronic device 10), or any othersuitable computing equipment.

Wireless network 49 may include any suitable network equipment, such ascellular telephone base stations, cellular towers, wireless datanetworks, computers associated with wireless networks, etc. For example,wireless network 49 may include network management equipment thatmonitors the wireless signal strength of the wireless handsets (cellulartelephones, handheld computing devices, etc.) that are in communicationwith network 49.

To facilitate manufacturing operations, device 10 may be formed from twointermediate assemblies, representing upper and lower portions of device10. The upper or top portion of device 10 is sometimes referred to as atilt assembly. The lower or bottom portion of device 10 is sometimesreferred to as a housing assembly.

The tilt and housing assemblies may each be formed from a number ofsmaller components. For example, the tilt assembly may be formed fromcomponents such as display 16 and an associated touch sensor. Thehousing assembly may include a plastic housing portion and printedcircuit boards. Integrated circuits and other components may be mountedon the printed circuit boards.

During initial manufacturing operations, the tilt assembly may be formedfrom its constituent parts and the housing assembly may be formed fromits constituent parts (individual components and subassemblies). Becauseessentially all components in device 10 make up part of these twoassemblies with this type of arrangement, the finished assembliesrepresent a nearly complete version of device 10. The finishedassemblies may, if desired, be tested. If testing reveals a defect,repairs may be made or defective assemblies may be discarded. During afinal set of manufacturing operations, the tilt assembly may be insertedinto the housing assembly. With one suitable arrangement, one end of thetilt assembly may be inserted into the housing assembly. The tiltassembly may then be rotated (“tilted”) into place so that the uppersurface of the tilt assembly lies flush with the upper edges of thehousing assembly.

As the tilt assembly is rotated into place within the housing assembly,clips on the tilt assembly can engage springs on the housing assembly.The clips and springs may form a detent that helps to align the tiltassembly properly with the housing assembly. Should rework or repair bynecessary, the insertion process can be reversed by rotating the tiltassembly up and away from the housing assembly. During rotation of thetilt assembly relative to the housing assembly, the springs may flex toaccommodate movement. When the tilt assembly is located within thehousing assembly, the springs may press into holes in the clips toprevent relative movement between the tilt and housing assemblies.Rework and repair operations need not be destructive to the springs,clips, and other components in the device. This helps to prevent wasteand complications that might otherwise interfere with the manufacturingof device 10.

If desired, screws or other fasteners may be used to help secure thetilt assembly to the housing assembly. The screws may be inserted intothe lower end of device 10. With one suitable arrangement, the screwsmay be inserted in an unobtrusive portion of the end of device 10 sothat they are not noticeable following final assembly operations. Priorto rework or repair operations, the screws can be removed from device10.

An exploded perspective view showing illustrative components of device10 is shown in FIG. 3.

Tilt assembly 60 (shown in its unassembled state in FIG. 3) may includecomponents such as cover 62, touch sensitive sensor 64, display unit 66,and frame 68. Cover 62 may be formed of glass or other suitabletransparent materials (e.g., plastic, combinations of one or moreglasses and one or more plastics, etc.). Display unit 66 may be, forexample, a color liquid crystal display. Frame 68 may be formed from oneor more pieces. With one suitable arrangement, frame 68 may includemetal pieces to which plastic parts are connected using an overmoldingprocess. If desired, frame 68 may be formed entirely from plastic orentirely from metal.

Housing assembly 70 (shown in its unassembled state in FIG. 3) mayinclude housing 12. Housing 12 may be formed of plastic and/or othermaterials such as metal (metal alloys). For example, housing 12 may beformed of plastic to which metal members are mounted using fasteners, aplastic overmolding process, or other suitable mounting arrangement.

As shown in FIG. 3, handheld electronic device 10 may have a bezel suchas bezel 14. Bezel 14 may be formed of plastic or other dielectricmaterials or may be formed from metal or other conductive materials. Anadvantage of a metal (metal alloy) bezel is that materials such as metalmay provide bezel 14 with an attractive appearance and may be durable.If desired, bezel 14 may be formed from shiny plastic or plastic coatedwith shiny materials such as metal films.

Bezel 14 may be mounted to housing 12. Following final assembly, bezel14 may surround the display of device 10 and may, if desired, helpsecure the display onto device 10. Bezel 14 may serve as a cosmetic trimmember that provides an attractive finished appearance to device 10.

Housing assembly 70 may include battery 74. Battery 74 may be, forexample, a lithium polymer battery having a capacity of about 1300ma-hours. Battery 74 may have spring contacts that allow battery 74 tobe serviced.

Housing assembly 70 may also include one or more printed circuit boardssuch as printed circuit board 72. Housing assembly 70 may also includecomponents such as microphone 76 for microphone port 24, speaker 78 forspeaker port 22, and dock connector 20, integrated circuits, a camera,ear (receiver) speaker, audio jack, buttons, SIM card slot, etc.

A top view of an illustrative device 10 is shown in FIG. 4. As shown inFIG. 4, device 10 may have controller buttons such as volume up and downbuttons 80, a ringer A/B switch 82 (to switch device 10 between ring andvibrate modes), and a hold button 88 (sleep/wake button). A subscriberidentity module (SIM) tray 86 (shown in a partially extended state) maybe used to receive a SIM card for authorizing cellular telephoneservices. Audio jack 84 may be used for attaching audio peripherals todevice 10 such as headphone, a headset, etc.

An interior bottom view of device 10 is shown in FIG. 5. As shown inFIG. 5, device 10 may have a camera 90. Camera 90 may be, for example, atwo megapixel fixed focus camera.

Vibrator 92 may be used to vibrate device 10. Device 10 may be vibratedat any suitable time. For example, device 10 may be vibrated to alert auser to the presence of an incoming telephone call, an incoming emailmessage, a calendar reminder, a clock alarm, etc.

Battery 74 may be a removable battery that is installed in the interiorof device 10 adjacent to dock connector 20, microphone 76, and speaker78.

A cross-sectional side view of device 10 is shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 6shows the relative vertical positions of device components such ashousing 12, battery 74, printed circuit board 72, liquid crystal displayunit 66, touch sensor 64, and cover glass 62 within device 10. FIG. 6also shows how bezel 14 may surround the top edge of device 10 (e.g.,around the portion of device 10 that contains the components of display16 such as cover 62, touch screen 64, and display unit 66). Bezel 14 maybe a separate component or, if desired, one or more bezel-shapedstructures may be formed as integral parts of housing 12 or other devicestructures.

An illustrative process for assembling device 10 from tilt assembly 60and housing assembly 70 is shown in FIG. 7.

As shown in FIG. 7, the assembly process may begin by inserting upperend 100 of tilt assembly 60 into upper end 104 of housing assembly 70.This process involves inserting tilt assembly 60 into housing assembly70 along direction 118 until protrusions on the upper end of tiltassembly 60 engage mating holes on housing assembly 70. Once theprotrusions on tilt assembly 60 have engaged with housing assembly 70,lower end 102 of tilt assembly 60 may be inserted into lower end 106 ofhousing assembly 70. Lower end 102 may be inserted into lower end 106 bypivoting tilt assembly 60 about axis 122. This causes tilt assembly 60to rotate into place as indicated by arrow 120.

Tilt assembly 60 may have clips such as clips 112 and housing assembly70 may have matching springs 114. When tilt assembly 60 is rotated intoplace within housing assembly 70, the springs and clips mate with eachother to hold tilt assembly 60 in place within housing assembly 70.

Tilt assembly 60 may have one or more retention clips such as retentionclips 116. Retention clips 116 may have threaded holes that mate withscrews 108. After tilt assembly has been inserted into housing assembly,screws 108 may be screwed into retention clips 116 through holes 110 inhousing assembly 70. This helps to firmly secure tilt assembly 60 tohousing assembly 70. Should rework or repair be desired, screws 108 maybe removed from retention clips 116 and tilt assembly 60 may be releasedfrom housing assembly 70. During the removal of tilt assembly 60 fromhousing assembly 70, springs 114 may flex relative to clips 112 withoutpermanently deforming. Because no damage is done to tilt assembly 60 orhousing assembly 70 in this type of scenario, nondestructive rework andrepair operations are possible.

A lateral cross-sectional view of an illustrative device 10 is shown inFIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 8, cover glass 62 may be mounted on top ofdevice 10. An adhesive layer such as adhesive layer 204 may be formedbetween cover glass layer 62 and touch sensor 64. Touch sensor 64 maybe, for example, a capacitive multitouch sensor. Touch sensor 64 may bemounted above a display unit such as liquid crystal display unit 66.Display unit 66 may be mounted above frame member 206. Frame member 206,which is sometimes referred to as a “midplate member” may be formed of astrong material such as metal (e.g., stainless steel type 304). Framemember 206 may have vertical portions 208. Vertical portions 208 may beattached to frame struts 168 by screws, other suitable fasteners, welds,adhesive, etc. Frame member 206 helps form a rigid platform for thecomponents (such as display unit 66, sensor 64, and cover glass 62) thatare associated with the tilt assembly. In addition to providingstructural support, midplate frame member 206 may also provideelectrical grounding (e.g., for integrated circuits, printed circuitboard structures, for antennas in wireless devices 44, etc.).

Frame struts 168 may be attached to frame member 166 of frame 68. Forexample, frame member 166 may be formed from plastic that is molded overframe struts 168 and that engages frame struts 168 in engagement region174. Frame protrusion 148 and gasket 146 may be used to separate glass62 from bezel 14.

Springs 114 may be welded or otherwise mounted to bezel 14. When thetilt assembly is mounted in the housing assembly as shown in FIG. 8,spring prongs 182 may protrude into the holes such as holes 196 that areformed by bent portions 194 in clips 112. Springs 114 may also have oneor more prongs that form grounding structures (e.g., to ground spring114 and bezel 14 to midplate structures such as midplate member 206 andvertical portions 208).

A perspective view of an interior portion of housing assembly 70 isshown in FIG. 9. As shown in FIG. 9, bezel 14 may be mounted to plastichousing portion 12. Spring 114 may be mounted to housing assembly 70 bywelding spring 114 to bezel 14 or by otherwise attaching spring 114securely (e.g., using fasteners, adhesive, etc.). An advantage of usingsprings and a bezel that are formed of metal is that this allows secureattachment mechanisms such as welds to be used to attach the springs andallows electrical paths to be formed. Satisfactory welds may befacilitated by using metals that do not have disparate properties. As anexample, springs 114 may be formed from the same material orsubstantially the same material as bezel 14.

Springs such as spring 114 of FIG. 9 may be formed from elongated springmembers such as spring member 180. Spring member 180 may be cut and bentto form spring prongs 182 and 201 (also sometimes referred to as springmembers or springs). Spring prongs 182 and 201 may have any suitableshape. An advantage of forming spring prongs with relatively narrowwidths (as measured along longitudinal housing dimension 184) is thatthis allows the springs to flex during assembly. There may be anysuitable number of spring prongs in device 10. As an example, there maybe one, two, three, four, five, or more than five spring prongs on theleft and on the right sides of device 10. Spring prongs 182 may matewith corresponding holes in clips 112. Spring prongs such as springprong 201 may be used as part of a grounding path. For example, spring201 may be used to ground midplate structures 206 and 208 of FIG. 8 tobezel 14.

Springs may be mounted to the sides of housing 12 or may be mounted onother portions of housing 12 (e.g., on the edge of housing 12 that liesalong lower end 106 of FIG. 7). An advantage of using springs and clipsalong the sides of device 10 is that this helps to ensure that coverglass 62 lies flush with the upper surfaces of bezel 14, giving device10 an attractive finished appearance.

If desired, springs 114 (i.e., spring members such as spring member 180)may be used to form a support structure to which components in device 10may be mounted. An arrangement of this type is shown in FIG. 10. Asshown in FIG. 10, spring member 180 may have portions that form abracket 186. Vibrator 92 (or other suitable components) may be attachedto spring member 180 and device 10 using bracket 186. Bracket 186 may beformed from a bent portion of member 180 or may be formed from aseparate structure that is attached to member 180. Screws such as screws192 may be used to connect a mounting bracket such as vibrator mountingbracket 190 to bent tip portion 188 of bracket 186 to hold vibrator 92in place. An advantage of mounting moving components such as vibrator 92to a metal structure such as spring member 180 is that this type ofarrangement may enhance the robustness of device 10 and may make device10 less prone to failure. Arrangements of the type shown in FIG. 10 mayalso consume less space within the handheld device than conventionalarrangements. As shown in FIG. 10, spring member 180 may have prongssuch as prong 201. Prong 201 may form a grounding spring that makeselectrical contact between bezel 14 and the frame of tilt assembly 60(e.g., midplate 206 and vertical midplate members 208 of FIG. 8).

Spring prongs 182 (and 201) may flex during assembly. Followingassembly, spring prongs 182 may engage clips 112 on tilt assembly 60. Asshown in FIG. 11, each clip 112 may have a main elongated member 198.Elongated members such as elongated member 198 may be welded to framestruts 168 and may extend along the edge of tilt assembly 60 parallel tolongitudinal dimension 200. Elongated member 198 may be substantiallyplanar (as an example) and may have a planar surface aligned withlongitudinal dimension 200 and vertical dimension 202. Portions 194 ofelongated member 198 may be bent with respect to vertical dimension 202and with respect to the planar surface defined by dimensions 202 and200. Bending portions 194 inwardly away from the plane of elongatedmember 198 angles portions 194 so that bent portions 194 are angled withrespect to vertical dimension 202. This forms holes 196 that can receiveprotruding spring prongs 182 (FIGS. 9 and 10) when tilt assembly 60 andhousing assembly 70 are connected to each other. Holes may also beformed by removing portions of elongated member 198, by bending orotherwise manipulating portions of member 198 sideways or in otherdirections, by bending multiple portions of member 198 within each hole,etc. The arrangement of FIG. 11 in which holes 196 have been formed bybending portions 194 down and inwards is merely illustrative.

With one suitable embodiment of tilt assembly 60, there is a member suchas member 198 that forms a clip on each side of tilt assembly 60. Theperspective view of FIG. 11 shows an illustrative clip 112 that has beenformed on the right side of tilt assembly 60.

As described in connection with FIG. 10, because springs 114 areattached to bezel 14 and thereby housing 12, springs 114 may be used toform a mounting structure for components such as vibrator 92. Inparticular, a spring such as spring 114 may be configured to form amounting bracket 186 having a horizontal planar member 188. Duringcomponent mounting operations, fasteners such as screws 192 may beinserted into holes 226 (FIG. 17).

A perspective view of an end of device 10 is shown in FIG. 12. As shownin FIG. 12, a bracket-shaped conductor that is mounted to printedcircuit board 72 may have a portion that forms a spring such as spring203. Spring-loaded pin 210 may be used as a positive signal terminalthat forms an electrical connection between a positive radio-frequencysignal path in an antenna transmission line structure on board 72 and aflex circuit antenna resonating element. The transmission line structuremay be used to interconnect the antenna resonating element toradio-frequency transceiver circuitry on the printed circuit board.

Dock connector 20 may have a conductive frame 205 (e.g., a metal frame),and pins 207. Pins 207 may be electrically connected to correspondingtraces in dock connector flex circuit 199.

Midplate 206 may be formed from metal and may form part of tilt assembly60. Structures 208 (FIG. 8) may form vertical portions of midplate 206.Midplate 206 may be used to provide structural support for componentssuch as display 16 in tilt assembly 60. With one suitable arrangement,midplate 206 may be formed from a conductive material such as metal.Electrical components in device 10 (e.g., the display, touch screen,etc.) may be grounded to midplate 206. Spring 201 on spring member 180of spring 114 may be used to electrically connect (ground) midplate 206(and the components that are grounded to midplate 206) to bezel 14 orother suitable conductive housing structures.

As described in connection with FIG. 10, a vibrator such as vibrator 92may be mounted in device 10. Vibrator 92 may be used, for example, toalert a user of device 10 when an incoming telephone call is received.

A conventional vibrator mounting assembly in a handheld device is shownin FIG. 13. Conventional vibrator mounting assembly 300 of FIG. 13 has avibrator 306 housed within boot 308. Boot 308 is press fit between twolegs 304. Legs 304 are attached to housing structure 302. Vibrator 306,which has electrical connections to device circuitry, vibrates whensignaled, such as when a phone call is being received. Boot 308 is madefrom an elastomeric material. Because boot 308 has elasticity, boot 308tends to dampen vibrations from vibrator 306 before these vibrations areconveyed to legs 304. This tends to reduce the efficiency ofconventional vibrator mounting structures of the type shown in FIG. 13.Legs 304 also consume a relatively large amount of space within thedevice.

FIG. 14 illustrates another conventional vibrator mounting arrangement.In the FIG. 14 arrangement, vibrator 402 is mounted to a housing bracket404. Vibrator assembly 400 has screws 406 and 408 that attach bracket404 and vibrator 402 to the housing. Welds may also be used in attachingvibrator 402. Assemblies such as assembly 400 of FIG. 14 tend to consumelarge amounts of horizontal space, as indicated by arrow 410.

FIG. 15 is a schematic view of a vibrator mounting assembly inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Arrangements ofthe type shown i FIG. 15 may consume less space than conventionalarrangements. Assembly 500 may receive structural support from housing12 and bezel 14. Vibrator 92 may have a motor that spins a weight aroundvibrator axis 504. The weight is typically off the center of axis 504,so that vibrator 92 vibrates.

Vibrator 92 may rest in a cavity such as vibrator cavity 508 on anelastomeric support such as biasing member 506. Member 506 may help biasvibrator 92 upwards against bracket 190. Mounting bracket 190 may biasvibrator 92 downwards in the general direction of arrow 503. Mountingbracket 190 may be attached to housing 12 using any suitable technique.For example, hook 512 of bracket 190 may engage portion 510 of housing12 through a slot or other hole 520. Screws such as screw 192 may holddown bracket 190 at its other end 511. A screw receiving member such asthreaded metal insert 516 may receive screw 192 through holes 505 inbracket 190 and portions 188 of spring 114. Metal insert 516 may bewelded to horizontal portions 188 of spring member 180 at weld pointssuch as weld points 513. Spring member 180 may be connected to bezel 14by welds (e.g., welds at points such as weld points 515). Inserts suchas insert 516 may include threaded holes into which screws 192 may bescrewed during assembly.

A perspective view of a portion of device 10 in the vicinity of vibrator92 is shown in FIG. 16. As shown in FIG. 16, vibrator 92 may be mountedbeneath mounting bracket 190. One end of bracket 190 may have hooks 512that pass through holes 520 in housing 12 and engage the undersides ofhousing portions 510. Bracket portions 511 at the other end of bracket190 may be secured by screws 192. Vibrator 92 may have a motor such amotor 522 that spins a weight such as weight 526 about axis 523. Weight526 may be mounted off center, so that vibrations are crated as weight526 spins about axis 504.

Spring 114 may have spring prongs 182 that mate with the clips on tiltassembly 60. Spring member 180 of spring 114 may have a bend such asbend 530 that forms horizontal support bracket portions 188 of spring114. Support bracket portions 188 may support vibrator mounting bracket190. Electrical contacts such as springs 524 may be used to makeelectrical contact between the power leads of vibrator 92 and controlcircuitry (e.g., pads on an overlapping circuit board).

Springs such as spring 114 of FIG. 16 may be attached to bezel 14 (e.g.,by welds). Bezel 14 may, in turn, be attached to housing 12 (e.g., usinga plastic overmolding process, using screws or other fasteners, usingadhesive, using a combination of these attachment techniques, etc.).Portion 188 of spring 114 may therefore form a horizontal mountingstructure that helps attach vibrator 92 to housing structure 12. Ifdesired, other electrical components (e.g., a camera, speaker,microphone, etc.) may be attached using one or more brackets such asbracket 190 and bracket portion 188. The use of bracket 190 and portion188 of spring 114 to attach vibrator 92 to housing 12 is merelyillustrative.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of device 10 in the vicinity of springmember portion 188. The FIG. 17 view is similar to the view of FIG. 16,but vibrator 92 is not present so that threaded holes 226 of metalinserts 516 and holes 505 in portions 188 are not obscured by vibrator92. During component mounting operations, fasteners such as screws 192of FIG. 15 may be screwed into holes 226.

If desired, vibrator 92 may be mounted using a bracket that is notdirectly connected to springs 114. This type of arrangement is shown inthe cross-sectional view of FIG. 18. As shown in FIG. 18, in vibratormounting assembly 800, vibrator 92 may be mounted to housing 804 (e.g.,housing 12 of FIG. 1) using bracket 802. Bracket 802 may bias vibrator92 downwards towards elastomeric support 810. Elastomeric support 810may bias vibrator 92 upwards towards bracket 802. Bracket 802 may haveone end 812 that engages hole 814 in housing 804 and another end 803that is held in place by screws such as screw 806. Screws such as screw806 may be screwed into threaded metal inserts such as threaded metalinsert 808. Metal insert 808 may be connected to housing 804 (e.g.,using fasteners, a press fit, adhesive, an overmolding process, etc.).

Screws such as screw 806 and 192 may, if desired, be omitted. Anillustrative vibrator mounting arrangement in which the bracket mountingscrews have been omitted is shown in FIG. 19. As shown in FIG. 19,bracket 904 of mounting structures 900 may have a portion 908 thatbiases vibrator 92 downwards towards elastomeric support 907 on devicehousing 903. Elastomeric support 907 may bias vibrator 92 upwardstowards portion 908 of bracket 904. Bracket 904 may have an end portionsuch as end 909 that engages a hole such as hole 911 in housing 903.Housing 903 may be connected to bezel 902 (e.g., a conductive bezelformed from metal or other suitable materials). Bracket 904 may beconnected to bezel 902 without using screws (as an example). With onesuitable arrangement, portion 910 of bracket 904 may be welded orotherwise attached to bezel 902.

If desired, welds may be formed between vibrator 92 and mountingbrackets in device 10. For example, portion 908 of bracket 904 may bewelded to vibrator 92 at weld location 906. Elastomeric biasing memberssuch as biasing member 907 (FIG. 19), 810 (FIG. 18), and 506 (FIG. 15)may be omitted or biasing members for vibrator 92 may be formed usingother device structures. For example, biasing members for vibrator 92may be formed from coil springs, leaf springs, bent metal structures(e.g., bent brackets), etc.

The process of assembly device 10 from numerous components may becomplex. Accordingly, it may be desirable to form device 10 frommultiple subassemblies. As an example, device 10 may be formed from tiltassembly 60 and housing assembly 70. In turn, these assemblies may eachbe formed from one or more subassemblies.

As an example, a subassembly may be formed using a speaker enclosure orother internal support structure. Components that may be mounted to thistype of assembly include a speaker (e.g., a speaker such as speaker 78of FIG. 3 for port 22 that is housed within the speaker enclosure), amicrophone such as microphone 76, a dock connector such as dockconnector 20, and an antenna (e.g., a flex circuit antenna containingone or more conductive antenna resonating element traces). An assemblyof this type, which may sometimes be referred to as an acoustic module,may be manufactured as a separate stand-alone portion of device 10,thereby facilitating testing and enhancing manufacturability.

An exploded perspective view of an illustrative acoustic module is shownin FIG. 20. As shown in FIG. 20, acoustic module 119 may include aspeaker enclosure such as speaker enclosure 118. Speaker enclosure 118may be formed from one or more molded plastic parts (as an example).Speaker enclosure 118 may be substantially sealed except for an openingfor port 22. Speaker 78 (FIG. 3) may be mounted within speaker enclosure118 (in the region under dashed lines 117), so that one side of thespeaker faces port 22 and the other side of the speaker faces the sealedhollow interior of enclosure 118. In this type of configuration, speakerenclosure 118 may serve as a closed speaker box that improves speakerperformance.

As shown in FIG. 20, components such as microphone 76, antenna flexcircuit 147, and dock connector 20 (and associated dock connector flexcircuit 199 and circuit components on flex circuit 199) may be mountedon speaker enclosure 118. In this capacity, speaker enclosure 118 mayserve as a unifying assembly for multiple parts of device 10.

If desired, a mesh cover 148 (e.g., metal mesh) may be placed overopening 22. If desired, a layer of acoustic mesh may be placed behindmesh 148. Mesh 146 (e.g., a metal mesh) may be used to cover microphone76. If desired, a layer of acoustic mesh may be placed behind mesh 146.The acoustic mesh may be formed from a plastic mesh material that hassmaller mesh openings than the metal mesh (as an example).

Microphone 76 may have an associated support structure 152 (sometimesreferred to as a “boot”). Structure 152 may be formed of any suitablematerial. With one suitable arrangement, structure 152 is formed from anelastomeric material such as silicone. This allows structure 152 to formgood environmental seals with enclosure 118 and other portions of device10.

During assembly, microphone boot 152 may be mounted in a mating holesuch as hole 144 within speaker enclosure 118. Hole 144 may havefeatures that engage boot 152 and that help to form seals between boot152 and enclosure 118. These seals and associated seals formed betweenboot 152 and the walls of housing 12 may help prevent intrusion ofmoisture or particles into the interior of device 10. Region 158 of boot152 may have one or more sealing features such as raised ribs. Thesesealing features may help to enhance the quality of the seal formedbetween boot 152 and housing 12. One or more holes such as hole 156 maybe used to allow sound to enter microphone 76. Flex circuit 154 may beused to interconnect microphone 76 with circuitry in device 10.

Antenna structure 147 may be formed from a layer of flex circuit (e.g.,a flexible circuit substrate formed from polyimide or other suitableflexible dielectric). The flex circuit layer may include one or moreconductive antenna resonating element traces (e.g., traces of copper orother suitable conductor suitable for forming an antenna). The undersideof enclosure 118 may have a planar surface or a surface with one or morenon-planar features. As an example, the underside of enclosure 118 mayhave a generally planar surface with slightly curved edges to conform toa comparably shaped housing 12. Antenna resonating element flex circuit147 may be connected to the underside of enclosure 118 using adhesive(e.g., double-sided adhesive film), or other suitable attachmentmechanisms. In this type of arrangement, enclosure 118 forms a supportstructure for antenna resonating element flex circuit 147 that helps todefine the shape of the antenna for device 10 and that helps to locatethe antenna structure within device 10. If desired, antenna flex circuit147 may have alignment features such as hole 149 that mate withcorresponding pegs or other alignment features on the underside ofenclosure 118.

Dock connector 20 may be mounted to enclosure 118 on ledge portion 121of enclosure 118. Ledge portion 121 may be formed from a recess of anysuitable shape. In the example of FIG. 20, recess 121 has a shape withvertical and horizontal sides. This is, however, merely illustrative.

Any suitable attachment mechanism may be used to secure dock connector20 to enclosure 118 (e.g., adhesive, fasteners, alignment features,etc.). Dock connector flex circuit 199 may be rigidly attached to dockconnector 20. For example, adhesive on the underside of dock connectorflex circuit 199 may be used to connect dock connector flex circuit 199to enclosure 118. This may help to attach dock connector 20 to enclosure118. If desired, dock connector 20 may have alignment posts such a posts127 that mate with matching alignment holes 129 on speaker enclosure118. Inserting posts 127 into holes 129 may also help to attach dockconnector 20 to enclosure 118. During assembly, acoustic module 119 maybe attached to other portions of device 10 (e.g., housing assembly 70)using screws that pass through dock connector holes such as holes 123 indock connector frame member 205. Enclosure 118 may also have featuressuch as slot 125 that may be used when mounting acoustic module 119within device 10.

FIG. 21 shows a finished acoustic module 119 to which dock connector 20,microphone 76, and antenna resonating element 147 have been mounted. Aspeaker for speaker port 22 may be mounted to the inside of closed boxspeaker enclosure 118 (e.g., under the region defined by dashed lines117). Solder terminals 131 may be used to make electrical connection tothe speaker within speaker enclosure 118. Antenna flex circuit 147 mayhave a ground clip such as ground spring 145 that is used in groundingthe antenna resonating element traces within flex circuit 147.

If desired, additional components may be mounted to speaker enclosure118 to form a subassembly for device 10 that contains more parts orfewer components may be mounted to speaker enclosure 118 to form asubassembly for device 10 that contains fewer parts. Differentcomponents may also be attached to speaker enclosure 118 (in additionalto or instead of the illustrative components of FIGS. 20 and 21).

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this inventionand various modifications can be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A portable electronic device, comprising: ahousing having a bezel; a member attached to the bezel; a vibratormounted to the housing the member, wherein the member comprises a metalspring welded to the bezel; a threaded metal insert that is welded tothe metal spring; a bracket that has an end that engages a hole in thehousing and that has a bracket hole; and a screw that passes through thebracket hole and that screws into the threaded metal insert.
 2. Theportable electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising anelastomeric member between the vibrator and the housing that biases thevibrator away from the housing towards the bracket.
 3. The portableelectronic device defined in claim 2 further comprising an acousticmodule having an attached antenna flex circuit, an attached microphone,and an attached dock connector.
 4. A portable electronic device,comprising: a housing having a bezel; a member attached to the bezel; avibrator mounted to the housing the member, wherein the portableelectronic device has at least first and second portions, wherein themember aligns the first portion with respect to the second portion, andwherein the member comprises a spring prong that grounds the bezel.